Citation Nr: 18102523
Decision Date: 05/15/18 Archive Date: 05/15/18
DOCKET NO. 16-32 019
DATE: May 15, 2018
ORDER
Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The evidence supports finding that the Veteran’s bilateral hearing loss disability is etiologically related to his military service.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for service connection for bilateral hearing loss have been satisfied. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.304, 3.306, 3.307, 3.309.
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served on active duty from February 1950 to April 1953.
1. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss
The Veteran filed a claim for bilateral hearing loss in November 2013. The Veteran asserts that his in-service military noise exposure and the “conditions of war” caused his current bilateral hearing loss.
Service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110. Service connection can be established by evidence that shows “(1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service—the so-called “nexus” requirement.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.310(a) (2016); Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1167 (Fed. Cir. 2004).
Unfortunately, the Veteran’s service records are presumed to have been destroyed by a 1973 fire and are unavailable for review.
The Veteran credibly testified at a Board hearing in October 2017 that during his active service he worked as an aircraft propeller mechanic without hearing protection. He was tasked with working on aircrafts and would do such work while the plane was running. The Veteran’s exposure to aircrafts increased as the Korean Conflict intensified. The Veteran testified that sometimes after working on an aircraft, it would be “a while before the adjustment hearing would come back, like hearing a jack hammer out of your office window or whatever.” Further, the Veteran testified that he first noticed hearing loss at age 17, but thought nothing of it at the time. However, when he attempted to re-enlist in the military in 1953, he was denied because the physical reportedly indicated he had hearing loss.
Treatment records indicate the Veteran has a history of otosclerosis status-post bilateral stapes procedures in the 1960s, and in the left ear in 2008. The Veteran has been diagnosed with external otitis, conductive hearing loss AS, and sensorineural hearing loss.
During his 2015 VA examination, the Veteran denied any civilian noise exposure, but did report some recreational noise exposure due to hunting “every three to four years when he was younger without hearing protection.” When asked for an etiological opinion regarding hearing loss, the examiner stated she was unable to provide an opinion without resorting to speculation. The examiner suggested that “an otolaryngologist would be better qualified to make that determination given the Veteran’s extensive history of otologic surgery."
The Veteran also submitted a letter from Dr. Sachin Gupta stating that he experienced both conductive and sensorineural hearing loss. Dr. Gupta noted that a 2008 stapedectomy corrected the conductive hearing loss, but not the sensorineural hearing loss. Dr. Gupta stated the sensorineural hearing loss may be related to “a combination of aging and prior noise exposure.”
In May 2018, the Board sought an expert medical opinion. The otolaryngologist found that it was more likely than not that the Veteran’s initial hearing loss was related to his military service. The physician’s opinion is grounded in a review of the Veteran’s service and VA medical records, consideration of previous medical opinions, consideration of the Veteran’s lay statements, and medical knowledge of disease and conditions of the ear. The Board finds this opinion highly probative and affords it great weight.
Based on the foregoing, service connection for bilateral hearing loss is warranted.
MATTHEW W. BLACKWELDER
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD R. I. Sims, Associate Counsel